


Only pain.

by moonlitangel



Category: SK8 the Infinity (Anime)
Genre: Adam might be a little ooc cause he's nothing but a plot device here, Angst, Anxiety, Hurt/Comfort, M/M, Protectiveness, Speculation
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2021-02-25
Updated: 2021-02-25
Packaged: 2021-03-16 09:29:39
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings, No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,840
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/29698512
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/moonlitangel/pseuds/moonlitangel
Summary: There's no fun in skating against ADAM.There is no joy.Only pain.
Relationships: Nanjo Kojiro | Joe/Sakurayashiki Kaoru | Cherry Blossom
Comments: 5
Kudos: 114





	Only pain.

**Author's Note:**

> First work for this fandom, please be gentle ( ´ ω ` )ノﾞ

There, on the brightly lit stage he stood, the Matador of Love, running his mouth like he always did and would. Joe merely listened with one ear, really. It was nothing but meaningless talk to rile up the audience, to increase the tension and excitement before he’d announce the first beefs that would take place during the Tournament. Frankly, ADAM's non-stop talking was getting on Joe‘s nerves.

His eyes, as well as thoughts, wandered to Cherry Blossom, who stood a little further away. Unlike him, the pink haired skater seemed to be absorbed in the words, staring intently at ADAM. Rage flickered in his golden eyes like a precious flame that was patiently waiting to engulf and burn everything in its wake. It caused a bit of an uneasy feeling to settle in the pit of Joe's stomach.  
Both of them had always wanted to skate against their old friend-turned-enemy and neither of them would back down until they had. Yet, in the corner of his mind, Joe couldn’t help but wonder whether or not he should keep remaining silent about the thoughts that had troubled him ever since the Tournament was announced.

If he didn’t know Cherry as well as he did, Joe would have asked him not to skate against ADAM.  
However, Joe knew that all of his efforts would ultimately be in vain. 

A heavy sigh escaped Joe. He rubbed a hand over his face, pinched the space between his eyebrows. 

Joe didn’t want to see Cherry skate against ADAM again. Never again. Not after what had happened the last time he did, all those years ago. The memory was still etched into his mind, like a fresh wound, a memory that he would and could not forget.

"Now," ADAM's voice brought him back to earth, "who will be my first guest?"

The focus shifted to the little black box that proudly sat on top of an old-fashioned table. ADAM reached inside of it, rummaging through its contents before pulling out a single piece of paper in one swift movement. Joe squinted, heart beating heavily in his chest.   
  
Fortunately, it was his name that rang through the crowded place, cheers answering left and right as ADAM waved the paper with the three letters painted on it around. It almost felt like a weight had been lifted from his shoulders, only to be replaced by an entirely new one. This wouldn't be your regular beef, after all - and Joe knew that he was taking a risk, too.

"Finally," Joe breathed, tightening his grip around his trusted skateboard. He’d give his all to win against ADAM and finally get what both him and Cherry had always wanted to skate against him for. This was an opportunity he had waited years for.

Joe turned his back to the stage to get to the starting line, to prepare himself for what was about to come. A hand around his wrist stopped him. He didn’t need to look and see who it was.

"Is this the part where you plead me not to skate against such a dangerous opponent?"

"Bullshit. This is the part where I tell you that a mere ape such as yourself couldn't possibly win against him. But unless you want to get your ass kicked twice, you better do.”

A lighthearted chuckle left Joe. Wonderful words of encouragement he had gotten there.  
He turned to face Cherry, smiling easily.

"Of course I’ll win."

_For us, I’ll win._

**—**

  
Cherry's widened eyes were glued to the screen as he watched the beef gradually come to an end. It had been a sheer torture to watch, from start to the point where it seemed like Joe might have a chance, might be able to win against ADAM. Yet, in the matter of a few seconds, the small hope was crushed into tiny specks of dust.

While Cherry's heart had been pounding non-stop before, it seemed to stop beating entirely when ADAM managed to overwhelm Joe with a new trick that neither of them had ever seen before, causing Joe to lose his balance and fall off his skateboard.  
Time seemed to slowed down while Cherry watched the green haired skater tumble to the ground at full speed, his board flying somewhere off the side of the road, body rolling around in the dirt.

"Kojiro!" Cherry _screamed_.

The rest of the world around him morphed into nothingness, his body acted as if on autopilot. His first instinct would have been to go there on his skateboard, but he'd be wasting too much time - time that he didn't have in that moment. Joe and ADAM had gotten quite close to the factory, after all.  
Thus, Cherry used his motorcycle to get to Joe as fast as humanly possible. According to Carla, it would take him three minutes at most.  
Even that sounded too long.

Rushing to get to the vehicle, Cherry didn't hesitate to jump on it, the engine roaring to life in nothing but a mere second. In the distance, he just so managed to pick up a voice calling out for him as he started to drive - Cherry guessed that it must have been Miya, but couldn't bring himself to care about anything other than Joe's wellbeing.

He was shaking all over, barely managed to get enough oxygen into his lungs while his thoughts were running wild in his head along with the footage of Joe's body hitting the ground replaying over and over again.  
Cherry never wanted Joe to experience the same pain he had gone through. He should have expected this to happen, he really should have.

Fortunately, it didn't take too long for him to arrive; Cherry almost stumbled to the ground as he jumped off his motorcycle and ran the last few meters. Once he was close enough, Cherry dropped to his knees in front of Joe's limp body. He was lying on his back, there were scratches all over his torso. Cherry grabbed the other skater by the shoulders and shook him a little, hoping - no, _praying_ that it would be enough to get him to open his eyes.

"Kojiro - come on, don't be such an idiot and _wake_ _up_ ," Cherry all but pleaded, his voice heaving with the fear that tightly squeezed his heart, robbed him of all air. A faint chuckle reached his ears, a familiar voice that caused an equally familiar anger to blossom in his chest. Cherry whipped his head around and scooted closer to Joe - if that was even possible - upon realizing that ADAM was slowly approaching them, like a predator that had finally caught his prey.

"Stay away!" Cherry raised his voice for the second time that day, a strangled cry that dripped with venom. ADAM whistled almost menacingly, a victorious smirk decorating his lips thereafter. 

"Oh, what a tragedy. Julia’s Romeo finally met his en—"

"Shut up!"

He tried to ignore it. Cherry needed to keep his entire focus on Joe, nothing and no one else. His shaking hands hastily danced across Joe's body. Cherry carefully pushed into the skin between the juncture of his neck and shoulder to check for a pulse, searched for any serious injuries.  
Was there any blood? Had Joe hit his head? Why was he unconscious? Why wouldn't he wake up?  
The skater tried to take a deep breath. His chest felt tight. Underneath the mask, Cherry pressed his lips together, making them all but disappear. 

Cherry tensed when he heard footsteps coming closer again. Was ADAM _still_ trying to approach them?  
The urge to _punch_ him was growing with each passing second.

"I told you to fucking stay away," Cherry's voice cracked, trembled as much as his limbs were. And still, it seemed like ADAM wouldn't yield, even after he had already accomplished what he had seemingly always wanted; destroy his friends with that _disgusting_ skating of his.

Once more did Cherry turn to face ADAM, the wicked grin on the blue haired's lips shooting a horrendous chill down his spine. Cherry swallowed dryly. It reminded him of the way ADAM had looked at him during their beef, just before he had joyfully sent Cherry right into the hospital.   
The pink haired skater felt his muscles stiffen, as if his body was preparing to run, to _flee_. But a hand around his wrist stopped him. A silent gasp involuntarily left Cherry's lips.   
  
"Kojiro?!"  
  
"Now, there's no need for _more_ physical violence."  
  
Joe's voice. He sounded wrecked and _tired_ , but Cherry's body slumped almost immediately upon it reaching his ears. He turned to face Joe, searching for his eyes, relief washing over him like a tidal wave. With him being awake again, ADAM seemed to have lost interest in the conversation and retreated for the time being, but not without vocally declaring victory as his once more. Cherry barely registered the words; He all but stared at Joe, mouth closing and opening without making a sound, before he let out a huge breath.

"Fucking hell, Kojiro," was what escaped him first and foremost, "you're unbelievable, I thought you..."

"Died? Nah, you're not going to get rid of me this easily."

In any other situation, if Joe hadn't been unconscious just a few moments ago, Cherry would have kicked him for spouting such nonsense.   
Instead, he rolled his eyes, ignoring the small smile that tugged on his lips. 

"How are you feeling?"

Joe heaved a sigh and slowly moved to sit up, raising his arms above his head to stretch himself. Cherry carefully watched him, taking note of the little changes in Joe’s expression that gave away what he was truly going through; his tense jaw, the way his lips momentarily twitched. He knew the green haired skater would play his injury down.

"Pretty good. Don't think I broke a bone."

"We should get you checked up anyways. You were gone for a good five minutes, after all."

Joe dismissively waved a hand, his glance darting around, eyebrows furrowed. He visibly pondered over something and Cherry could only watch with his head slightly tilted to the side.

"I'm sorry."

Cherry doubted that he heard that correctly. 

"For what?"

"Y'know. This mess."

Certainly, it was a bit of a rare occurrence to hear a genuine apology from Joe, yet it didn't surprise Cherry to hear it. Joe probably knew fully well what Cherry had gone through while he was unconscious. Still, an apology was the last thing that Cherry needed. He got to his feet and offered a hand to Joe.

"I'll accept your apology after you went to the hospital and got your ass examined." 

Joe chuckled. He accepted Cherry's hand and easily pulled him down to the ground again, having the clear advantage in terms of strength. Cherry ended up on top of him, cheeks painted in a rosy hue, their faces mere millimeters apart. 

"I hate you." For once, there was not a single hint of spite in his voice, but a hint of fondness. 

A cheeky smile graced Joe's lips.

"Of course." 

**Author's Note:**

> Ep 7 left me with a broken heart so I decided to break it a little more.  
> I think Joe might skate against ADAM in Ep 8 and I'm silently hoping to see something like this (ノωヽ)
> 
> Thank you for reading! Kudos and comments are appreciated ❤️
> 
> EDIT; this didn’t age well :D


End file.
